BCS Legislature Seeks Gold Lettering for Hurricane Liza Victims

The Baja California Sur state legislature is considering a proposal to inscribe “Ciclón Liza: September 30, 1976” in gold lettering on the Honor Wall of its main chamber. Legislator Erick Iván Agúndez Cervantes is championing the initiative as a tribute to the victims and anonymous heroes of Hurricane Liza, which remains the deadliest natural disaster in the state’s history.

A Disaster That Killed Over 1,000 in La Paz

Hurricane Liza struck La Paz on September 30, 1976, as a powerful Pacific hurricane. Heavy rainfall caused catastrophic flash flooding after a dam burst along El Cajoncito Creek on the outskirts of the state capital. Floodwaters swept away hundreds of people in their homes.

Official estimates put the death toll at roughly 1,000 across the state, with 412 confirmed dead in La Paz alone. At least 1,263 fatalities are attributed to the storm overall, making it one of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded in the eastern Pacific. The hurricane destroyed nearly one third of the homes in La Paz and caused an estimated $100 million in damage (1976 dollars). As many as 70,000 people were left homeless, and 20,000 were injured.

Memorial Tied to Modern Disaster Preparedness

Agúndez Cervantes has framed the proposal as more than a symbolic gesture. The initiative explicitly links the memorial to updated public risk policies, emergency response protocols, and community resilience planning in Baja California Sur. Legislators are pointing to increasingly intense and unpredictable hurricane seasons as a reason to act now.

This is not the first time the state legislature has addressed the Liza anniversary. In 2016, state legislator Marco Almendariz Puppo called on both society and government to improve the culture of civil protection, citing the hurricane’s devastating legacy. State and municipal authorities, along with the military, held a formal honor guard ceremony at the 45th anniversary in 2021 and again at the 48th anniversary in 2024.

Nearly Five Decades Later, the Memory Endures

If approved, the gold inscription would place the Hurricane Liza disaster alongside other defining moments in Baja California Sur’s history on the legislative chamber’s Honor Wall. The proposal is now under consideration by the state congress. The 49th anniversary of the hurricane falls on September 30, 2025.

This story was first reported by BCS Noticias.